Erect or arching perennial freezing to the ground in zone 8 but a woody shrub in the tropics. It produces showy purple tubular flowers in terminal clusters late in the growing season. Cut back plants after the frost kills the tops. Mound 10 inches of coarse sand over the stubs. Mulch over with pine straw. As weather warms, remove this covering to allow new shoots to emerge. Given rich soil and ample water, these plants will thrive during hot summers. This definitely purple flowered plant was brought from England by Mike Dirr as Cestrum purpureum but literature gives this name as a synonym for Cestrum elegans smithii which for us is a very different plant.